Iwata admits Nintendo is to blame for poor Wii U Sales

The Wii U has been on the market for 8 months now and despite a strong start, the console has failed to make an impression on the average consumer. Nintendo has been very careful about not assuming blame for the Wii U’s current failure to be widely adopted by console gamers. Now in an interview with CNBC, Iwata finally admits that Nintendo hasn’t done all it could to ensure the console’s success.

“We are to blame. We relaxed our (marketing) efforts, so the consumers today still cannot understand what’s so good and unique about the Wii U. Because we’re always trying to be unique, it takes some energies on our side to (help) people understand the real attractions about whatever we are doing.”

This is very true, as during the first three months of the console’s release very few commercials were released showing off the Wii U’s capabilities. Those that were created made it seem as if the Wii U was an upgrade to the Wii, instead of a stand-alone device. The Wii had original marketing that was everywhere, so seeing Nintendo admit failure from a marketing standpoint is definitely a step in the right direction.

One of the many points people bring up when discussing how Nintendo could ease consumer adoption of the Wii U is to opt for a price cut. However, the already frugally priced Wii U comes in at $299 and $349 respectively, making it hard to cut any more from the price. Iwata admits as much in the interview:

“Because from the very beginning we came up with a very aggressive price point. We do not think [a price cut] is a very easy option to take.”

Now that Nintendo has admitted its mistakes in marketing the Wii U, hopefully we can see them take the proper steps to correct these mistakes and get consumers on the right track. If you’re interested in reading the full interview with Iwata, you can check it out here.

Around the web

Pull your finger out i-dog and start dropping bombs. And like a comment above said , do like the biggest marketing campaign ever asap.

jay

During the 3DS infancy?

discuss

Hahahah where are you now blind nintendo fan-boys who said “Nintendo is doing a good job marketing. Who do you think you are saying you know better!?”.

Billy_Perry

No one ever said that, ever. I point you to the numerous articles where I have argued their marketing has been shit and off point, and people have regularly agreed with me.
Their marketing is improving, but yes, it has been shit.

Cameron

What are you talking about?
People on this site have been talking about Nintendo’s failure to advertise for months.

david jarman

We never argued this, and they’ve already said this. Fucking blind dumbass troll searching for any reason to trash talk.
I’ve already mentioned they were soft launching the console until their games are ready.
Soft launching means they aren’t pushing the marketing yet until its ready.

discuss

I’m david and I aggresively defend myself eventhough the poster didn’t even mention me and I say his post has nothing to do with me.

I’m also really smart.

david jarman

Only a fool tells himself he smart.

Calling people names is going to lead to harsh words, but you’re really smart so you already know that.
You commented with disrespect so I returned the favor.

By the way your response sounds like something a child would say to another child while fighting on a playground.

discuss

Poor david can’t you see the irony in your post? You also didn’t understand that the last line applied to you.

david jarman

Oh ,I know you referred it to me, but I never claim to be smart. I guess you don’t know why I stated what I said. Ponder it for awhile.

discuss

There are so many people telling me I was wrong when I said Nintendo was doing a bad job with their marketing. They sooo aggressively defending Nintendo (read: extremely rude). I’ve had plenty of discussions about this. Who do you think you are telling me I can’t say “see I told you so”?
You are one of these people who hasn’t has a single clue about marketing and yet you try to act smart about it. Even now even when Iwata himself said they did a bad job you come up with a “soft launch” excuse.

Please stop responding to me. We’re in a difference league.

Pikachief

What are you talking about? Nintendo fans have complained the most about the marketing because of how terrible its been!

MetroidZero

404 Truth Not Found.

Johny

nobody said that. no nintendo fanboy you meet won’t tell you that the marketing and advertising job is well done by nintendo. instead they’ll tell you the OPPOSITE.
im sick of your shit larry

discuss

If we didn’t discuss this then why do you feel such a high need to defend yourself? Why did you even reply if I wasn’t even talking about you?

“Lets downvote his post, group up and pretend it never happened! Lets fool ourselves that we are smart!”

jay

Okay now you’re just trolling.

discuss

I never discussed anything with you but still you feel the need to jump in. You are the troll here.

jay

GUESS WHO’S THUMBING EVERYONE DOWN???

jay

No one ever said that.

The only blind fanboy here is YOU.

discuss

No one ever said that? I didn’t see you before. I’m a fanboy of what exactly?

david jarman

Trolling.

discuss

Stop trolling me david. Go play somewhere else.

Grulnork

Ow dear fanboys, don’t take the bait from trolls! First you admit being a fanboy, something that a is a terrible thing to admit of yourself. And secondly this is what trolls wants. As long as people keep replying to posts like this more posts will come in the future. Ow internet will you ever learn.

discuss

Not every fanboy is a blind one. I am adressing those who’s only argument is “YOU ARE WRONG BECAUSE YOU CANT SAY ANYTHING BAD ABOUT NINTENDO”.

You don’t even state why I should be trolling (I’m not) but troll instead yourself.

Billy_Perry

To be honest, it is nice to know they recognise the problems they face, but I want to see them act on these problems. Come on, ramp up the marketing big style, like biggest marketing campaign they have ever done sort of thing.

Jerry Garcia

No joke man.
People think it’s a handheld system for 300 bucks.
Frickin morons.

1239474899

Ur a joke the wii u just simply fails to be a good console

Bob Charlie

“No one cares about nintendos insignificant speck of dust.”
^^You obviously care enough about it if you go out of your way to make a Disqus profile just to troll a Wii U site.
Thanks for your support.

lonewolf88

the 3 vote ups he got are guest that of course he made no one in there right mind would up the comment on a nintendo site.

Jerry Garcia

DOUCHE……..(echoes)………….BAG!!!!!………..(more echoes)

everyone

The Best Buy E3 event is a good start. I think they turned some ppls attention onto how fun it can be.

Garren

I agree. They need to re-brand and re-launch the Wii U under a different name and image. That and get some actual games on it.

iPedro1000

I agree but E3 would have been the stage to do it. They’re stuck with WiiU now. A cosmetic redesign at a $299 price point with free eShop credits for 1 game would have put the WiiU in the news and stolen some of the PS4 and Xbox One’s thunder at E3. They could have renamed it Wii2 or Nintendo Six and people would immediately understand that it’s a new console.
It would be identical to the existing WiiU so games would work both ways and existing users wouldn’t be screwed over — they’d in fact now own a limited edition console.

I like Iwata and its great that he’s taking responsibility but doesn’t it bother anyone that he’s constantly apologizing for messing up? Time to bow out Iwata son.

Bob Charlie

Very good point, but I got to down vote you, ‘mon.
“Mr.” in Japanese = san.
I know because I got KO’d by Piston Hondo during a fight on Okinawa.
Crowd kept sayin’, “Hondo san! Hondo san! Hondo san!”
I kept sayin’, “Hondo me san ice, ‘mon.”
Sorry… I’m high. ¦ )

JuleyJules

Exactly! They know there are issues and are going to have displays at theme parks and attractions in the USA but they also need to get ads going on tv again showing whats coming – Pikmin 3, W101, Wario etc – followed by more ads thru the fall for LofZ WW, Sonic, Wii U Party, DKC, 3D Mario and 3rd party titles too so buyers know things are coming to Wii U like AC 4 and Batman Arkham Origins etc. One other thing – they need to talk to retailers like Target, Best Buy and others so they have a separate Wii U and Wii section so consumers know they are 2 separate consoles. Online stores like Amazon (especially in Canada) should be told they need separate sections for Wii U and Wii. It’s very frustrating going online or in stores. Gamestop/Ebgames are great with separate areas in store and online.

Adecentboy777

MY WORDS EXACTLY!

NintendoNoob

It good that they realised that. But now all they can do is fix their mistakes and make Wii U known worldwide. Good luck, Nintendo!

Luna Moonfang

3DS. Just sayin’…

joel

No competition just sayin

Eliot

I’m sick if hearing this from Nintendo, whom I love dearly despite their best efforts to drive me and all their other fans away of late!
The marketing has been poor, but the real problem is a lack of compelling software.
For years Nintendo have said it’s all about the software, not the hardware and before the launch of WiiU they said they’d learnt the lessons of the terrible 3DS launch. So what have they done about it? A barren launch schedule for nearly the whole first year, followed by a few frankly uninspiringly safe tittles as we head into Christmas and next year.
I really don’t understand how they can keep getting this stuff so wrong. Take for example Retro Studios. This studio has produced one of the finest games on the NGC in Metroid, producing an engrossing, atmospheric title, the likes of which is clearly sorely missing from the software line up on the WiiU. So what do Nintendo task them with producing on their new hardware? Another bloody 2D platformer! Now I’m sure they’ll produce a very good 2D platformer, but that’s not the point. They have the development talent to produce a diverse catalogue of games, but they refuse to do so and then wonder why no one is buying their console.
Come on Nintendo, it’s hardly rocket science. Make a diverse range of quality titles, of the sort that your rich hoard of franchises represents and people will not only buy your hardware and software, but tell others how good it is too.

david jarman

Maybe you don’t but there appears to be more people who do want those 2d platformers. Retro is in development with something else. What that is exactly? No one knows.
I only agree a little, but Speak for yourself not for the rest. I’ve been a fan since 85 a long with a lot of my friends and we love nintendo and have not been pushed away.

DereX

Its time for you to be a smart consumer and stop kissing Nintendo’s butt. The WiiU has definately pushed consumers away and the evidence is in the sales. You must be really easily amused if you think that there isn’t a lack of software for the WiiU. People like you need to just go buy a SNES and stay away from next generation consoles bc side scrolling is old news. Out with the old and in with the new.

Laud

Out with the old in with the new?

Who cares if it’s an over head view if the game is fun?

There is a lack of software but that’s going to change with time what the hell can you do about it now? We both know that Nintendo doesn’t like to rush games. You should have understood this when you bought it on launch day.

DereX

You have a HD console and you want Nintendo to make 2d side scrollers? Some people never learn.

Starfoxguy

It doesn’t matter if a game is 2D or 3D. As long as its fun to play. I sometimes play games my dad played when he was my age. I play them because they are fun.

jay

Open-minded youngsters. I like this.

Bob Charlie

My thoughts exactly, Jay.
I was about to make a comment on how my gaming generation (early 80s babies) somehow failed the gaming youth of today, but it looks like there are still a few young ones that truly know what gaming is all about. FUN!

david jarman

Some people….like you

everyone

Agreed. Gameplay trumps anything for me. As long as its fun I don’t care if its a 2D platformer.

DereX

3D Games like Mario kart can be fun too and they take longer than 10 min to make….if you guys are happy with crap like SMBU, then Nintendo will be more than happy to supply you with crap like SMBU. Im not giving Nintendo anymore money until they start producing games like they used to. Ill be playing my PS4 until then (immersed in 3d / HD graphical worlds).

everyone

I don’t ever recall a Nintendo game only taking 10 minutes to complete. If you are that childish and spoiled feel free to play the PS4 that isn’t even out.

DereX

Side scrollers do not take very long to make. Especially when they are a remake of a 15yr old game…. I imagine that they have a SMBU level editor by now that just allows them to place the props, the obstacles and done…… They are spitting out 80 level DLCs and you think they are taking their time on it?

everyone

Have you played either Mario U or the DLC? It really just sounds like you have no real arguement on this besides non fact based rage.

DereX

I have played every SMB game that exists. Im going to wait until you fix your spelling to comment because I honestly cannot understand what you are trying to say.

everyone

Gets owned by people on forum. Gets reduced to making comments on spelling. Statement stands.

jay

“3d HD graphical worlds”

DereX

There is really nothing wrong with that phrase but alright, looks like we have a star trek fan….. I am really jealous of you right now…..

BLACKendTiamat

GRAAAAAPHICAL DUUUUUDE

Bob Charlie

Lol, go buy a gaming PC if you want the best graphics, not a PS4.
Diablo 3? HAHA, Really? It’s been out on PC for over a year now and is the worst Diablo in the series.
I smell a Donkey Troll.

DereX

Its coming to the ps3 and the ps4 completely unique from the computer version. it is practically a new title on any console.

Bob Charlie

Bahaha, so essentially it’s going to be worse than the PC version? Good luck trying to fit 30 spells onto your 10 button controller.
Complains about N not being innovative enough, then brags about picking up a dumbed down version of a terrible PC game.

MarioSuperStar

Shuck and Jive Bob Charlie!

Bob Charlie

‘Lil Mac always seems to get me no matter how hard I shuck and jive.

DereX

Blizzard is a very successful company….If Blizzard is taking the financial risk to release a game on console after this long then I trust them more then you….. By the way, Diablo got a 9.5/10 from IGN.

Bob Charlie

Good for IGN! They also gave Halol 4 a 9.8, and The Last of Us a 10, so I tend not to trust their judgement.
Blizzard…financial risk. Those two words don’t fit together. After almost a decade of WoW they don’t need to worry about money.
Keep it coming because I haven’t fought someone as weak as you since I last fought Gabby Jay.

DereX

9.5 / 10…….. I guess you need to write IGN a strongly worded letter as to why they are wrong….. and why you think you are smarter and better at their job then them ??

I just looked up like 10 different reviews and I couldnt find a single one under 8/10… Just because you dont listen to experts doesn’t mean that they are wrong.

Bob Charlie

I play games and then decide for myself. The problem with children like you is that you trust these so called, “experts” far too much. They’re paid critics who are in their early to mid-twenties and have gamed on nothing but Xbox and PS systems. They’re biased and usually only one editor is tasked out with reviewing a game. Ryan McCaffrey had a huge hard-on for Halo 4 that’s why the 9.8, and the teenager who rated The Last of Us gave it a 10? Really, a 10?
Go back to IGN little boy, nobody here likes you.
Edit: I could give two shits about IGN. I had an NES controller in one hand and a Sega Master controller in the other long before you or any of those IGN “experts” were even born.
I even owned a Virtual Boy, betch!

Chris Hamilton

have you even played either of those games? The last of us was awesome and deserves a 10/10, it will probably win game of the year.

Bob Charlie

Played plenty of Halo 4, never played Last of Us. I’m sure it’s great, but it can’t be a 10. A 10 means the game is perfect in every way. The problem is IGN and other critics base their scores off of other games they’ve rated. “Halo 4 got a 9.8, but The Last of Us is better than Halo 4 so we have to give it a 9.9 or a 10.”
Why buy a PS4 when PS3 has the world’s most perfect game? “I give it a 10! A fucking 10! I still got wood!”
I’m disagreeing with their (IGN) grading scale, not if The Last of Us is a good game or not.

Chris Hamilton

I’m not a fan of ign’s ratings either(they get paid off way too much) but a game doesn’t have to be perfect (there is no such thing as a perfect game) to get a 10.
The last of us has the best graphics I’ve ever seen in a console game, the story was easily top 3 I have ever played (I have been gaming since the artai 2600 so that says a lot), and the gameplay and voice acting was top notch as well.
if that game doesn’t deserve a 10 then no game ever does.

Bob Charlie

Well I’ll take your word for it then.
You grew up with a 2600 so I definitely will trust your judgement on the 10 over that of an IGN “pro” who was 7 when Xbox and PS2 were released.

BLACKendTiamat

really?! please dont EVER refer to IGN dude. thats bad juju.

Diablo 3 is HANDS DOWN the worst of the 3. i trust my friend who has been playing the series for 11+ years to tell me this.

a matter of fact we are playing D2; LoD right now lol. he bought D3 and regretted it.

right now we are grinding through Nightmare on Hardcore. so fucking stressful lol!

the truth hurts i know. but again im HOPING they revamp it for ps4. if not then it will be a no go for me

BLACKendTiamat

we cant assume that just yet man, lol. i plan on buying D3 for ps4 if its any good. that or FFXIV thats currently on life support. i hope it survives! loved FFXI online. was hopeful for XIV. :/

Mario

Then there’s no reason for you to keep that DK image if you dislike Nintendo so much. I’m fine with your opinion, but I’ll always stick with Nintendo no matter what. From the beginning of my life as a gamer, till the very end!

Bob Charlie

Yut!

DereX

I will adapt and evolve….. If Nintendo starts to suck, it is up to me as a consumer not to buy into it…
Soda and other products are bad for your health, yet people buy them anyway…. It is up to the consumer to make smart educated choices and not the company…. The $350 you dropped on your WiiU….. Was it worth it? As of now? Also, it sounds very immature telling me that I cannot have a certain picture attached to my name…

Bob Charlie

You opened up that can of worms on yourself when you started telling people they were dumb for buying games they like. Come to a Wii U site and bad mouth the U; what did you expect? Some cheese with your whine, maybe?

DereX

That’s right! I eat worms like you for breakfast….. That is what you are saying, right?
I come on this website each day to try and find new announcements for the bad investment I made (WiiU)….
I get very annoyed when I see things like Nintendo apologizing because they really do know what they are doing…. They are dumping all of their resources into the 3ds game development so that they dont lose the handheld war against the Vita and the PS4… The WiiU home console isnt a priority for them apparently and I wish they would have told me ahead of time not to buy the WiiU until they were actually planning to release games for it…. I think this is what my bitterness towards nintendo is stemming from. Since the time I bought the WiiU and now, there havent been any good games but apparently I got screwed out of $50 in price cuts…… It really makes things worse when I come on here and people are praising Nintendo for doing terrible…. Nintendo is apologizing for sucking and you guys are still praising them….

Bob Charlie

Can of worms is an expression.
I was joking about you being a child, but now I know I’ve been going back and fourth with a 15 year old.

Oops, I’ll let myself out, sorry.

BLACKendTiamat

sounds like more of a personal problem.

how about you sit back and take a chill pill. wait for the big releases.

sorry that people have the ability to look at a bright future. they see SSB4, WWHD, Pikmin 3, New Zelda 2014/2015, etc etc. all i can say is IM GLAD I DIDNT PLAY WW for NGC. lol.

you seem to be stuck in the now. that sucks to be you.

sell your wiiu at a loss on amazon if its such a bad investment. better hurry!

this shits just like the stock market huh? better cash out soon man!

meanwhile ill be enjoying all the new releases for ps4 and wiiu.

BLACKendTiamat

was worth buying one to me fruit loop.

yeah having a DK pic is very misleading considering you are boycotting N lol.

i have a ps4 preordered. wiiu/ps4 this gen for me hands down. nintendo will always have a few gems in the rough.

ps4 for whooping people like your’s asses online via cod24.

wiiu for more entertainment as far as gaming and family co-op.

lost all trust with MS after the crazy shit they went through this past month.

Mario

Please! Compared to my brother, I’m a lot more mature. I accept your decision. I just don’t like it that’s all! And yes, it WAS worth it! Right now, I’m writing you this comment on my gamepad! And I enjoy every Nintendo game I have!

Hairee Pothead

Just become a PC Gamer.

everyone

Theres only 1 non 3d platformer for the Wii U now and only one more coming. Just because someone gets joy out of it doesn’t mean they need to avoid next gen consoles. Thats just blind anger. Theres plenty of games that will have full 3D like Mario World 3D, Lego City, Monster Hunter ect.

jay

Side Scrolling Mario DEVOURED 3D Mario last gen.

Pretending like your opinion is the only one that matters only shows your lack of knowledge and experience.

DereX

Mario Kart Wii sold better then Super Mario Bros Wii……

david jarman

It’s time for you to fully read and comprehend what person writes. I just said I agree a little, but not completely and responded with what retro responded with. There can be mind blowing 2d platformers. Look at how many people were upset when rayman was delayed. You need to stay away from gaming cause apparently its consumed your life if your just going to troll on fans who made a simple point.
I hate to burst your bubble but there are going to be 2d platformers on both the ps4 and xbone.

DereX

“Comprehend what person rights?” or do you mean, “comprehend what each person writes?”…….. Anyway…. I was just saying that I agree Nintendo’s console sucks because of the games and not the advertising….. Youd have to be an idiot to not know the WiiU exists… Its bc of 15yr old games like SMBU that its not selling well ($350 for more of the same)…. People dont want to play this old game anymore; however, even I bought it because its the only Mario game that is on the market…. Games like Mario, Zelda and Pokemon sell consoles…. Its not about commercials or posters….

MarioSuperStar

If you really feel petty enough to call out spelling and grammer, you might want to use three periods for ellipsis as well as use apostrophes while attemping to type contractions.

I dont care about spelling or grammAr… I only care that your comment is legible……

(I could correct you on the word GRAMMAR if I were a spelling nazi)

MarioSuperStar

If you don’t care, why even bring it up in your replies? Argue with game facts. Don’t reduce yourself to the defeated state of only having a vocabulary correction.

dxcvs

“Youd” or do you mean‚ “you’d”….”Dont” or do you mean‚ “don’t” Anyway…..lmao

Aaron Burrough

I find it a bit amusing that you’re referring to 3D gaming as “new”, Derex. 3D gaming can be traced all the way back to the early 90s with games like Wolfenstein and Doom. Even “3D HD graphical worlds” are hardly new, as the PS3 and Xbox 360 have been producing that stuff for the past 8 years now. Fact is, just about every style of game and type of gameplay has been done to death now. Most games we see now are more of the same with minor tweeks here and there. Certainly nothing truly ground breaking like say the original Super Mario Bros.

Also, calling new SMBU “crap” is a low blow. No, it’s certainly not the best Mario game ever made, but it’s not crap either. I’m not saying you have to like 2D side scrollers or anything and I’m not denying Nintendo needs to bring out some kick butt software ASAP and get 3rd parties to bring more quality software as well, but you aren’t really presenting your case very well here.

DereX

I agree with alot of what you say but I am tired of Nintendo getting by with these remakes and people encouraging it. It’s not that uncommon for people to refer to sequels as crap because they obviously aren’t as meaningful as the original, like you said… I guess I need to be a little more compassionate but why? I am a consumer.

Nintendo used to put consumers first but they just dont anymore. They havent even released any decent games for months and now there are price drops on the WiiU (they should refund atleast w proof of purchase since we supported Nintendo at launch, reward the fans and not punish them)… Let me clarify myself.

1) They aren’t creative anymore… Year of Luigi? That is the last character that needs a game. Bowser games, Peach games, DK games, Waluigi and Wario dream team instead of the same old mario team. I would recommend anything that isnt 2d (this gen and last, consumers expect decent graphics)… How can they release DK 64 and then turn around and release DK country returns on the Wii?? They are moving backwards.

2) They have this huge character base but they arent introducing any new ideas (PS is starting to take advantage of this in all-stars). Even Now, developers are trying to “force” consumers to like characters like Tingle. Why? They still have not fully used the old characters in popular new ways… Rayman is still successful and that is practically the only character they are using… Why do they need to change to these ridiculous substitute characters out? PEOPLE WANT NEW GAMES WITH THE OLD CHARACTERS!!

3) Nintendo prides themselves on being the multiplayer console and yet none of the games are capable of playing online MULTIPLAYER. The only games with MP are like sports mix, mario kart, and smash bros; however, the gameplay wasnt even that great. Even the NintendoLand game that should have been online MP, was only Miiverse online…. That is like snapple using the slogan “made from real fruit”… It is a dressed up lie.

4) They need to look at their games and see what was successful and use common sense to develop games. Nintendo is being stingy with their ideas.. They refuse to make Pokemon games for console bc they are greedy with the success of their handheld consoles (which arent HD and arent nearly as desireable as vitas without Pokemon.. ) Here are just a few ideas Nintendo could introduce that would make them not suck….

-Create Multiplayer for successful old virtual console games

-Bowser games telling the story from his perspective

-Pokemon console games for WiiU in 3D.. like an MMORPG.

-Capability to play Pokemon on console like Pokemon Stadium at the very least with their 3ds.. The Wii version took this feature out.

-Old handheld Pokemon versions on VC for the WiiU (red)

-Add hundreds of Super Smash brothers characters (updated frequently)

-Enable a controller more like the trident shaped N64 controller that works with every game optionally. There is no reason to play with those crappy little wiimotes. The D pad hurts and pointing at the screen is obnoxious.

John Andalora

I’m slightly half sided on this one.
On the one hand, i think that 2D platformers are a lot of fun, and that a game doesn’t need to be 3D to be fun.
On the other hand, games like New Super Mario Bros did so eell the first time around because the last game of that caliber was made in the 1990s. The revival of an old idea after 15-20 years would not only be able to get the nostalgic crowd excited, but would also allow newcomers a new type of game they haven’t experienced before.
Now, here’s a look at sales of the original New Super Mario Bros, and the sales of their sequel counterparts.
New Super Mario Bros for the DS and Wii both sold over 27 million copies each( I believe the Wii version sold about 30 million). Now, that would make Nintendo think that this warrants more sequels. However, the New Super Mario Bros 2 for the 3DS only sold about 6 million copies, while New Super Mario Bros U has sold about 2.15 million copies today.
There are a couple of factors that would affect such results (length of release, popularity of console, advertising of game) but one of the main factors is that, while there are people still excited, there are certainly not as many.
Now, i’m not trying to talk for everyone, and I know that people are still excited, but those are just my thoughts on the matter. The next Donkey Kong game could be a smash hit, but we’ll have to wait until it comes out to be sure.
I do hope that whoever plays it has a lot of fun, though!

david jarman

I wasn’t thrilled at first about retro, but after watching the developers interview and seeing it in 1080p it grew on me a little. I still want my metroid, but this game looks like it was well thought out.

http://MacroManJr.blogspot.com/ Brian Lockett

Did you read this at all?

“…Now I’m sure they’ll produce a very good 2D platformer, but that’s not the point.”

We’ve already had a Donkey Kong game from Retro Studios quite recently. But, of course, there is no evidence given that more people want more 2D platformers on Wii U. I don’t understand what “appears” to be that way. Just because they’re making another 2D platformer doesn’t mean it was necessarily high in demand.

If anything, we Nintendo fans have had our fill of platformers from Nintendo in the past few years. We’ve seen more platformers than darn near anything. Both of the 2D and 3D variety. They’re fun and all, but they’re usually not the strongest reason why we generally buy consoles.

At least, not when we’re hoping for more different kinds of games today. We expected much more from Wii U, as we rightly should–Nintendo promised more. That’s something that gives us a good reason to expect more out of them. Frankly, there’s no reason not to give more.

Most likely, Nintendo having Retro develop another DK game is probably because platformers are generally much faster to develop–not necessarily because of a high demand. They’re probably just trying to put something out there in time for holidays. Their modularity in design makes them much faster and easier to develop than, say, a complex RPG or an action-adventure game.

Though, Eliot didn’t even say he didn’t like 2D platformers. He made the solid point that Nintendo needs a much more solid title right now from one of their best second-party developers (Retro Studios) than just another mere Donkey Kong game, which we’ve already seen from them recently.

Right now, the Wii U needs killer titles, and I’m sorry, but even the Donkey Kong fan that I am knows that Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze isn’t a killer title. Again, I’m no saying the game won’t be good or that it shouldn’t have been made at all–I’m just saying that this game wasn’t the best use of development time for Retro Studios right now. DKC:TF could’ve come sometime later.

Retro is one of the best second-party developers in the world–why not have them work on a much greater game? Donkey Kong’s fun and all, but the Wii U promised more than just platformers, which there were plenty of at E3.

We don’t need both Mario and Donkey Kong platformer games together for Wii U–we really need more variety. You throw in Rayman Legends and Sonic: Lost World, and you begin to see that Wii U is well-covered for both 2D and 3D platformers–perhaps even too covered.

We all love Donkey Kong, but truth be told, what we really needed was something much more prolific, maybe like a new Metroid series, a new Star Fox experience, maybe even a new F-Zero game (since Nintendo apparently can’t think of any new ideas for F-Zero). Or perhaps what Nintendo’s putting off for too long–a new IP for console altogether.

And Nintendo needs as much second-party and third-party help with providing more variety for Wii U as much as possible. The Wii U needs to be the universe of gaming it can be…and not just that console with all the easily-developed platformers.

Knlegend1

How can this have any thumbs down. This true. These games announced at e3 are going to be good quality games, however they will not push units. Nintendo has to step up and produce the games that we know they can. It actually hurts to see them perform so poorly.

QuizmasterBos

You say Nintendo’s problem isn’t marketing, but I believe it is! When’s the last time you saw an ad for Wii U? I’ve seen one about three times in all the time the Wii U has been out.

Also, most consumers still think the Wii U is merely a gamepad that connects to a Wii. That’s because in the limited marketing that Nintendo has done, they kept focusing on the controller and not the system.

If Nintendo wants to score, they need to start working on marketing… hard! Software’s the number 2 thing they need to work on. And I’m glad Nintendo realizes that.

jay

Sales don’t agree with you. Just Sayin’.

I like Metroid Prime as much as any other Metroid geek But when Prime 3 sells 1.5M and DK Country Returns quadruples that…. Well, you don’t have to be Einstein to see where I’m going with this.

LonDonE247

But that comparison is not fair, the last time nintendo fans got a donkey kong country game was ages ago, that is most likely why it sold so well, just like what happened with new super mario bros wii, both games were a return to 2d platforming on a console after a long time by nintendo, that is why they had allot of hype, just look at metroid prime 1, that was a metroid game after a long while and so it became one of the best selling games on game cube, so i think the comparison wasn’t fair, everyone knows metroid games have never been big sellers.

There are most likely more 2d fans on nintendo consoles then 3d, since nintendo started out with 2d games back in the day!
I loved donkey kong country returns, but new super mario bros wii not so much,i prefered the 3d marios like mario 64 and the galaxy games over the 2d ones, except for mario bros 3 and super mario world, they both are the bomb!

But after getting the wii donkey kong game and then the 3ds version, they should have waited a bit till making and releasing the wii u donkey kong game! they would have been better off releasing something else by retro, preferably a metroid prime, since the last time we got a new prime game was a fair few years ago!! either way i too have been disappointed with the wii u line up for this year, i would have preferred a proper 3d mario, multi player in a Mario game is always a throw away experience, and just for a bit of fun, but everyone ends up playing the mario games single player like they have been for years! i don’t know why nintendo fans have to throw hissy fits whenever anyone has a different opinion! DealWithIt!! people we are adults with different opinions! like it or lump it!! everyone was riding on that dexter guy, when allot of what he said was true, and he is entitled to his opinion!!

I understand your frustration on the Retro front and I did share it until I saw an interview with the head of Retro. Nintendo didn’t task them with anything. Retro was given a choice and decided to make another Donkey Kong Country. I appreciate that Nintendo gave Retro that artistic freedom even though I would have preferred that they made a new Metroid instead.

http://MacroManJr.blogspot.com/ Brian Lockett

I agree. And for some reason, when I made much this same argument elsewhere, all I got was a bunch of sore kids disliking a good dose of reality. You try to present reason, and people are too stupid to recognize it and too poor in their reading comprehension to realize that you said details like “Now I’m sure they’ll produce a very good 2D platformer, but that’s not the point.” Your 11 dislikes don’t surprise me, though I’m surprised you’ve managed 15 likes so far.

Denison Guizelini

Nintendo, participate in this generation changes and remove the region lock from WiiU/3DS! #NoRegionLock

LonDonE247

tell me about it, its so 90s, the PS3,PS4, XBOX1, all are region free, i hate when nintendo only release certain games in japan, and i cant play them on my pal console due to region lock, and so i have to buy a Japanese console too, its so old fashioned, and a pain in the back side! i had a post on miiverse today about this, and as usual some retarded rabid dog nintendrone couldn’t take it and started talking shit, i got fed up, nintendo fans need to realize we are allowed to have different opinions!
what about releasing a console without a Ethernet port? WTF? or even a Dolby codec? or hard drive with decent storage? it laughable!

Denison Guizelini

must work together to make our voices heard by Nintendo !!

Denison Guizelini

About hard drive, no problem let us to use a external usb hdd. But the region lock and no mp3 e video player for a usb pen drive ou hdd… someone need to creat a mplayer app

They’ve already been on Jimmy Kimmel’s show, back when it was launching, with Regginator demonstrating the Wii U and everything. TV shows are not going to spark very much. It’s going to take games.

Shawn Spitler

If you read the actual CNBC article it’s very depressing.

Your money

Glad to see nintendo admit their own mistakes. Normally, a company like microsoft wouldn’t admit about their mistakes (and lets not talk about the Xbox 1). This shows how genuine nintendo is to their consumers and fans.

jay

Nintendo has been known for this. And ms is on its way to surpassing sony when it comes to lying.

Madmagican

Although MS did recently righted many of their wrongs (got rid of all the bull like no used games and internet check-ups)

Scott A. Hanson

Nintendo continues to rely on their original content continue to drive their hardware sales. When I watched Nintendo’s E3 Direct I was saying to myself, how many times is Nintendo going to continue to rely on their old franchises. Mario Kart 8? Sounds like a movie sequel. Nintendo needs to eliminate redundancy. If I were CEO I would have used the 3DS as the “Game Pad” and allowed the Wii U to stream to it and use that as the controller. I could have had a map screen and see my enemies along with using the TV. The Game Pad can not be used independently of the Wii U and the industry is moving toward mobile. The extra resources then could have been used to improve the Wii U’s hardward to compete with the PS4 and X-Box One and allow companies to multi-develop for all the platforms. I believe that Nintendo generally is Innovative, but they also need to take in account where the market is headed otherwise Nintendo will find themselves alone on an Island. They may tout Innovative and Game Play all they want, but if you remain on an island no one may notice or listen…….

eli

and i would never buy that console.

everyone

You say that because you want PS4. After playing my Wii U I would rather have to buy one console over a console and a Vita with awkward thumb sticks. Seems like you want to make generalizations without actually owninh and playing the console.

CyanideInsanity

making the 3ds replace the gamepad would be another GC-GBA issue all over again. Not to mention, I don’t think the gamepad is that powerful as a seperate device, so I don’t see what other functions it would do. Then there’s the price; it it cost much more due to a slightly more powerful gamepad it would not sell to that many outside the core nintendo fans once the ps4 and xbox one launch.

It is a next gen console, but is still weaker than its competitors. “pretty shinies” sell to the idiot masses. Meanwhile people who don’t care and just buy a console because it has games they enjoy are a smaller population.

Linskarmo

I don’t understand why they haven’t been advertising, and I hope they’ll fully rectify that problem. I think they should at least make some clear ads showing what Wii U is and does.

Link Slayer

here is the problem they dont really have a game worth spending millians for big time air play commercials!

Guest

AMEN !

Nintedward

They do. All their first party content is big enough for ‘big time air play comercials’ . NSMBU and NSLU i big enough right now and so is a lot of the stuf they have coming up.

jay

New Super Mario Bros. U is far bigger than all third party content.

New Super Mario holds records dude.

Majora’s Mask

the wii u launched pretty good but that was mostly all the wii u sales

Zombie_Andrew

They need to start showing a montage of all the games out and coming to Wii U inc Mario Kart, X and Smash Bros alongside Panorama View demos and the Off screen mode!!!

Starfoxguy

Maybe they should do live action commercials.

Mad Scientist Link

They did not show the console enough for people to see its different along with ads. Look at the pic of Iwata holding the gamepad and look at the picture hanging on the wall, its the wii.. people see this and will think you just need the gamepad (we gamers know the difference but people who aren’t constantly searching don’t)

jay

wow what a good observation!!

Stupid decision on that pic.

Sometimes I wonder if discontinuing the Wii will skyrocket Wii U sales and kill the confusion. It’ll be costly though.

Dryan Bavis

so is it a standalone handheld device, or is a peripheral for the wii?? i consider myself a gamer but they really haven’t made what it is clear.

Madmagican

…it’s a stand-alone 8th generation console

joel

Whats 8th gen about it ? not 1 game on it says 8th gen.

Madmagican

the fact that Wii was 7th gen makes Wii U 8th gen
it has nothing to do with power

mariofreak007

a price cut will be necessary and Nintendo needs inform the people better but
we are already convinced that the Wii U is a Next-gen console and lets hope the rest also thinks about it
Maybe ambassador program again?

Christian Cerna

Once the new Xbox and Playstation come out, no one will care about Nintendo, except for little kids and senior citizens.

TaintedXGamer

downvote this so called “christian to oblivion”

joel

Who is convinced wii u is a next gen console ? Not 1 person thinks the wii u is next gen and not 1 game says its next gen either.

lonewolf88

wrong crytek said the console is next gen ubisoft said its next gen silicone knights said its next gen indie devs said its next gen get facts trait also games? mario kart 8 one of the best looking games of e3.
plus almost all of nintendos new exclusives are 1080p and run at 60fps.
and the ps4 games that were shown at e3 only run at 30fps.

Wren Justin Umlauf

Even Activision said it was next gen.
And to anyone that says Wii U is not “Next Gen”, you’re not looking at the term properly. Wii U is in the same generation as the PS4 and Xbox One, so in other words, it’s a next generation console. It just started the generation. It may be lacking in hardware compared the others, but so was the original Wii

lozman1122

Next gen does not mean “better graphics”. You and all the other haters aren’t defining it properly. Besides, why does this even matter? I go back and play “last gen” games all the time and I have a blast. I don’t understand this fixation with how you use next gen. If you’re a true gamer, then you seek out to play great games no matter what.

JuleyJules

Wii U is ‘next gen’ for one simple reason. Wii was Nintendo’s entry to last generation of consoles with PS3/360. Wii U is their entry to the next generation along side PS4/Xbox One. Graphically it doesn’t compare but that’s not what makes a console next-gen as mentioned in other replies to your response. Developers have said it’s next-gen.

Kaihaku

Hmm… It would be very Deadpool of a game to say, “This game is next gen.”

BLACKendTiamat

basically, youre uneducated joel. sorry bud, no amount of fancy dress suits will make up for your lack of understanding. back to pencil pushing with you. those papers wont sign themselves.

if a mother gave birth to a child with only two limbs and half a mind, that child is still the NEXT generation of her family.

THINK before you post.

the child described above makes more sense than you.

John Andalora

This is a nice step.
However, admitting a problem is the first step.
Iwata has said he hopes for more 3rd party support, but I’d like to actually know how they’re going to do it.

I honestly feel that N rushed the release of the Wii U due to the PS4 and Xbone releases later this year. When I picked up my U very early this year I was amazed how long menus/games took to load, and how often my U froze up. From a company that prides itself on quality I feel that the U had to have been rushed to some extent which could explain the lack of first party titles. I definitely could be wrong as this is entirely all speculation, but “When it’s ready, it’s ready,” didn’t come off to me when I first started using my Wii U.

Kaihaku

It’s true. I think that the Wii U is a great piece of hardware but it definitely felt rushed – especially the core software.

Bob Charlie

Yeah, it’s tough to say. I don’t think they would admit to rushing it if that was indeed the case. Who knows?
With all these apologies going around, if Iwata comes out and admits the Wii U was rushed he may just have to perform hara-kiri on a Nintendo Direct to make up for it.
…Maybe Bill could translate.

John Bollinger

The one thing that bothered me when playing my friends Wii U was the button placement. Maybe I am just used to the analog sticks being lower and offset from the buttons but I thought it was awkward to go from the Right Stick to the buttons. Perhaps I would get used to it if I played it all the time.

http://taiyokun94.deviantart.com/ Keaton

I felt the same but like every new nintendo controller, you’ll get use to it. Took me a couple days

Anthony D

Hiroshi Yamauchi, Minoru Arakawa and Howard Lincoln were 10 times better then

Satoru Iwata and that PUNK Reggie Fils-Aime

Michael Scesny

i am buying one but i don’t know if i can dig up enough money to get a new one

DereX

Nor should you….. Between you and me, I would save up for a better console like PS4…….. IF the WiiU ever comes out with a game that you like then you can always buy it then (in 2014, after its been through some price cuts)…… I dont see why anybody would buy a WiiU this year… The PS4 is going to be about the same price but with a higher capability.

Mario

It’s all right Iwata. Everyone can do mistakes sometimes. Even video games companies.

DingoWalley

In an industry where people blame Piracy and Used Gaming, it’s so refreshing to find one voice that says “It’s our fault. We’re sorry.” Now they just have to fix their problem. But if Crowdfarter is anything to go by, they might be on their way to fixing that.

Kaihaku

I’ve been gaming for over three decades and over the years Nintendo has proven to me again and again that they are the most reliable game developer. When they make mistakes it’s usually because they get caught up in being too artistic…but I’m confident that they’ll make things right and this e3 definitely bolstered that confidence.

gimpcell

They know their problems and are only doing the customary apology in a calm and candid Japanese form. I respect them to a degree. They sure will impress me. I caugt sight of the fooseball game on the gamepad and am simply amazed.

http://www.facebook.com/fabian.noggle Fabian Noggle

sorry but to me its kinda lame myself to take a console and add a tablet style attachment to it the tablet style controller is just stupid to me seeing as how it is a console NOT a portable.

Bob Charlie

You obviously don’t own one. :-/

Marcos Crill Colon

Same thing I said he don’t own one lol

Marcos Crill Colon

You must not own a wii u cause i own all current gen and past gen consoles and the wii u controller pad is the best controller ever made it has every button where used to having plus motion, a camera, universal head set jack ,speakers, a mic, a pretty screen that allows you to play games with out a tv and do things never possible before on a console what else can you ask for.. I could under stand people complaining about where’s the games but don’t sit here and act like this ain’t the best controller ever made

John Andalora

I don’t think it’s stupid, but I don’t think it’s the best controller ever.
Has its ups and downs.

http://www.facebook.com/fabian.noggle Fabian Noggle

sorry but it is really stupid, it is like a tablet with controller buttons on it, and whats the point of the screen anyway when its a console not a portable. and what happens if our controller fails you throw the WHOLE system away and buy another ( I have yet to see the Wii U controllers for sale anywhere personally)

John Andalora

Well, i think it has it’s ups and downs.
I think that playing something on the gamepad while having the TV on is okay, and some games like Zombi U make a nice use of it for finding things.
However, it’s looking for innovation in the wrong area. The gamepad feels clunky and a 3 hour battery life practically requires a constant plug. The controller also is trying to push innovation rather than let it come, forcing people to give some form of gamepad function.

It’s not terrible, but not great. I’d rather just use the pro controller for most games.

http://www.facebook.com/fabian.noggle Fabian Noggle

ill take my original xbox controller and my 360 controller thank you, best controllers EVER made for me seeing as how every other controller makes me feel like im gonna break the damned thing, but the WiiU controller is still WAY to beg and if I wanted it to have a screen id save some cash and just get a freaking tablet.

gizmochimp

It’s not “marketing” issue with me, it’s an issue of games. Nintendo burned me before with the Wii, which was essentially a dumping ground for shovelware. Nothing they’ve shown me since indicates the WiiU will be much better when compared to the other two systems. One or two good games a year among a sea of garbage does not a good system make.

Christian Cerna

True. I don’t know why people defend Nintendo. I am not going to buy a console just because I can play a couple of good games on it. If it weren’t for a couple of Mario games, that come out once every couple of years, Nintendo would have nothing to boast about.

Marcos Crill Colon

Once Mario and donkey kong and kart come out they will be good cause even if customers don’t know what a wii u is they will after they see them games and relize they can’t be played any where else..same thing happend with Zelda and Mario on 3ds they helped sell the system and it was doing a lot worst then the wii u is right now that they had to make the ambassadors program and cut the price

Christian Cerna

People are getting tired of playing the same Mario games over and over again.

Patrick Francis

Who is?
Every Mario they release is completely different.
Every Halo, COD, Final Fantasy, and every other IP remakes the SAME EXACT game, like completely and utterly identical to the previous game.

Marcos Crill Colon

No there not each new one sells more then the last or the same and a true Nintendo fan or gamer knows that all Mario games ain’t the same they all try something diff from backpacks of water to riding dinosaurs to jumping in paintings etc same goes for Zelda metroid etc its people like you the know nothing that make stupid comments like that …people are hating on Nintendo bad right now its the in thing to do mine you they did better at launch till now then last gen numbers wise with no games just a bunch of ports…now when all theses games come out this year and they sell the most consoles this year lets see what every ones going to say lol..trust me there’s not one next gen or current gen game that going to beat that new Mario game sales wise expect call of duty and gta and that’s cause it’s muliplatform and the wii u just came out so there’s not even enough consoles out the yet..the wii u is set up to have the best holiday out the 3 even if Nintendo only had Mario 3d this year which the don’t they got a new game every month ms and Sony wont even be able to make enought consoles to sell they will maybe only ship like half a millllion units each leaving a lot of people empty handed

TaintedXGamer

basically speak for urself, not everyone has tunnel vision like U

Derringer Duo

Oh, and here I thought it was our fault.

Christian Cerna

It’s funny how they say the WiiU is frugally priced. Really??? $299 is frugal??

Joel Congi

Compared to the $400 PS4 and $500 XBox One. Yes. Absolutely.

http://taiyokun94.deviantart.com/ Keaton

Christian. Console wise, yes, it is frugal. Realize that the Wii U(Basic) is only $50 more than a Wii dispite the 8gigs, HD, and Game Pad+Console, And For $350 you get 32Gigs, A Wii U game, and More Accessories. You don’t seriously expect prices to go below $200 do you? compare it to the XBone, which is $500. Which one is more frugal? the Wii U Is the cheapest console on the market.

Ryan House

I don’t know what channels others watch but I haven’t seen a Video Game Commercial in Years. G4TV apparently is No MORE

Sammed

Marketing is one thing but what are you gonna market when there is hardly any AAA games to go with the system? Aren’t we putting the carriage before the horse here Iwata?

Kendal Chandler

A price cut is a good idea, but it’s no good if there are no games and people think it’s an upgrade to the Wii. Start with better games, like the ones slated for next year. Then do a small price cut, or consolidate to one model and cut the price on that. Bring it all home with some advertising, explaining that it is a NEW console, with more power than the Wii.

Agent721

So true…I had a buddy over last week, a non-hardcore gamer, and he said he’kjmumijks going to buy a Wii for him and his GF. He then sees my Wii U and is like “What’s this?”. I told him what it was and he says he’s never heard of it.
This is a typical guy into movies, sports, chicks, etc…if he doesn’t know what it is, then Nintendo has failed royally. Is it really that hard to buy a few spots on Sportscenter?

Dryan Bavis

it has nothing to do with creating a small market peripheral that no one asked for and supplying narrow brand games that appeal to a static group of consumers versus an evolving group of consumers.

Simian Sibling

Nintendo got a lot of bad word of mouth over Christmas due to the infamous 8-hour mandatory download. As a kid, I would have been PISSED on Christmas morning. Hell, there were some people who didn’t have internet access that simply couldn’t play a game. Nintendo gave up the simplicity associated with the Wii; you want to play a game, just pop it in and go. It’s truly unfortunate, Nintendo was the last holdout from the “install your console game” mentality.

TaintedXGamer

they fixed that already……. now hear this madatory install for microsoft xbone games…….. that not’s a pretty picture is it?

Madmagican

Let’s hope Nintendo can like they did with the 3DS and get this console’s sales where they should be
Acknowledging their mistakes is the first step in a marathon to get Wii U on its feet

Luna Moonfang

If you look the the gamepad, you can see someone’s face…
is it Regginator’s one?

1239474899

I doubt its cause of marketing everyone knows about the wii u you see it at gamestop you see it in walmart, its simply not selling because its a horrendous system with ps3 style graphics selling at 300/350 a pop with no games and no third party and no inovation, not even with a price drop which there has been globaly charging in some places a mesly 150 to buy one and people still arent buying, stfu this system sucks so much d i c k ima return mine im a nintendo fan but nintendo is nothing more than a mobey hungry casual gamer company thats no better than microsoft

sd

Watch X…it is capable of better graphics than the PS3, but will be overshadowed by the PS4. The difference is Nintendo likes to focus on gameplay over graphics. The problem is they aren’t releasing the games yet.

Fox Mcloud

If they make a metroid game for wiiu like metroid prime I will buy all the wii u s in every store in a 100. Km radius

Starfoxguy

Nice name but there are two c’s lol

PaulM

Well, if Nintendo thinks their marketing efforts failed, then they’ve DOUBLE failed because they also failed to recognize that the concept, execution, and interface of the Wii U is sorely lacking.

1239474899

So if the gamers know the difference and they still arenet buying it could only mean two things even nintendo gamers dont want it or they already have so these nintendrones want CASUAL GAMERS to buy their system lmfaooooo

1239474899

I doubt its cause of marketing everyone knows about the wii u you see it at gamestop you see it in walmart, its simply not selling because its a horrendous system with ps3 style graphics selling at 300/350 a pop with no games and no third party and no inovation, not even with a price drop which there has been globaly charging in some places a mesly 150 to buy one and people still arent buying, stfu this system sucks so much d i c k ima return mine im a nintendo fan but nintendo is nothing more than a mobey hungry casual gamer company thats no better than microsoft

Marcos Crill Colon

I stop reading once you said no innovation lol man you don’t own no wii u …by the way new super luigi out now …..

sd

Go and play one. Its a great machine. The problem really is so simple. One many people havn’t heard of it still, certainly in Australia anyway. Two is that after release there have hardly been any games. Monster hunter came out in March and sales lifted slightly for a small amount of time. At that point had they released a top game each month it would have lifted off.Those that wanted one got one, those unsure have not given a game to make them say ok ill get it now.

Hopefully it will change as from this month Nintendo release one game each month – Game & Wario-Pikmin-101-Zelda etc. I am concerned as I really want this console too succeed so hopefully it is not too late.

Even IF it failed it is not too late for Nintendo. They have the money to make another console and they are still making a profit. So IF it fails they will just release a new console sooner. But I hope it succeeds as Nintendo are needed in the games industry.

Serhend Adil Sirkecioglu

i stopped reading when he said no games, when it showed the most exclusives at E3 and has many game like AC4, Watch Dogs, COD Ghosts, Batman AO, and its own first party games like Pikmin, Pokemon XY, Donkey Kong Country(which was number 3 of the best sellers of april), and next year smash and mario kart which were/are the top selling games on Wii. There are rly good games out right now for the Wii U like injustice, Monster Hunter, Resident Evil, New Super Mario Bros., Need For Speed, Sonic All Stars Racing(which has been hailed a sleeper hit), Lego City(another sleeper hit), Tekken Tag 2, 007 Legends, and Scribblenauts. there is more than enough to sustain the Wii U this summer as we get Pikmin 3 and DK then Super Mario 3D World.

bizzy gie

Wii U is 7 months old not 8.

HowMuchWasColumnistPaid

Need to market it as a Tablet PLUS a whole console game. People spend $300 on a tablet…this is all that PLUS a gaming console.

Emily Horton

“Hello, I’m Mr. Iwata, the CEO of Nintendo. I would like to take the next thirty seconds of this commercial break to show you the Wii U”

Played on every channel at least twice an hour.

Serhend Adil Sirkecioglu

what she said

WASD

no one likes ads

Clel

I thought he’d already said this?

John Andalora

He said something to this effect in April, but had the ability to say “wait till E3 to see what games we have in store!”
Now E3 passed…

Dhruv Rajyagor

When they announced the Wii U, I was a bit concerned as people would think it would be an upgrade from the Wii, solely based on the name. Then I realized that the Xbox 360 had the same Xbox name as Xbox. With Playstation, it’s easy to see that it’s the next console w/ PSone, PS2, etc., because of the number increase. W/ 360, it added the 360 to the Xbox name and bam, another console.

So i wondered “how the hell do people think the Wii U is an upgrade to the Wii if Microsoft did it first and people understood it was the next console?!”

That’s how bad Nintendo’s Wii U marketing is. They need to tell consumers the difference of the Wii from the Wii U, before it’s too late to do so.

Hairee Pothead

Release some more qaulity games and release a shrunken down Gamepad with higher pixel PPI that you can sell in store’s. cause right now if a Gamepad breaks then you are screwed.

Serhend Adil Sirkecioglu

they sell spare game pads in japan. and eventually they talked about implementing use of multiple gamepads.

Hairee Pothead

it’s not worldwide though and the Gamepad need to be smaller.

yarinoma

No offense but what it showed was the intelligence level of the average person in the United States. I knew EXACTLY what the Wii U was when they first showed it. The upgraded graphics alone was enough information to tell me it was a different console. Who, in their right mind, would think this was an upgrade to the Wii? Did they tell you that you could open up your Wii and exchange the graphics chip? They even demoed the system on Jimmy Kemal to show you it wasnt an upgrade.

Less Nintendo marketing strategy more peoples attention span. Great deal of people with ADD or ADHD. How many times have I gone to a fast food joint or concession stand, told the cashier exactly what I wanted and STILL got the wrong order? Went to see MOS the other day. Ordered a cherry coke from the concession stand. Ended up with a Dr Pepper. Are they really that much the same?

Potemkin

Offence taken, and no, I am not North American. The thing is that the poor presentation by Nintendo and their obsession showing the new controller only created doubts. And I’m sorry, but watching the conference online I was unable to tell if it was a new system altogether or the controller that was streaming HD content.

sd

The telling point will be whether or not E3 has helped Nintendo lift their sales temporarily. They are getting rid of the basic model, so maybe they should sell the deluxe model for $50 less than it currently is. It would only take 2 game sales to make it profitable as a system then.

If they want to be clever they could stop bundling nintendo land with the system. Reduce the price and sell the 32Gb version with no games. People will buy it with a game and hey presto they spend the same amount of money, but it looks more appealing. they could then sell Nintendo land separately for a cheap price.

lozman1122

I knew that was a rumor, but I don’t believe that they are discontinuing the basic set.
I know what you mean about Nintendo land, but they in my opinion they need a game included that shows off what their new system is all about: funs that are flippin fun to play. I’ve questioned the lack of any price drop myself, but I believe that Nintendo is waiting to see what kind of reception they receive with all the games they have coming out later this year.

sd

My understanding was they were either recalling them or just stopping making them (the 8Gb model) and doing a white 32Gb version. But I could be wrong. With a price cut it makes sense to do a price cut in October when Zelda is released. A double wham the month before the next consoles. Lets hope they think like this.

It would also mean they do a price cut when there are a few new and good games out. No point doing a price cut now when there are no new games making people buy the system, it would just look like desperation. Also they have to say they are not planning a price cut, because otherwise people would just wait to buy one.

lozman1122

It’s okay, I could be wrong as well. I’d need to look up that article.

I agree it does make sense. quite the kick for Nintendo to do a $50 price cut when Zelda is released. I understand your logic behind wanting to cut it now rather than next year after this slew of games, but I feel that Nintendo would rather wait until after to see if a price cut is absolutely necessary. If these upcoming games sell like crazy and push forward systems, then there is no need. However, if their upcoming games aren’t selling, then maybe a price cut after would help move them. Either way, I think we can both agree that a price cut would be nice sometime soon to help move the upcoming games.

CCM

People buy Nintendo consoles for Nintendo games, Period! Currently
there is a severe lack of those games so it’s not a shocker the system is
suffering because of it. Over the next 8 months or so the Wii U will get Pikmin
3, Zelda Wind Waker HD, Mario 3D World, Donkey Kong, Mario Kart 8 and Smash Bros. Those games will move hardware.

The more hardware they move, the more attractive the system will be for 3rd parties. It’s not that difficult of a concept.

Plus you have a lot of lazy 3rd parties out there. EA comes to mind. There is simply NO excuse why they don’t have a port of NHL ’14 planned for the Wii U or the PS Vita for that matter! I mean the freakin Vita has DUAL ANALOG STICKS – a requirement for NHL and they STILL can’t port it? Or take the Wii U GamePad – they could do some really cool goalie-cam stuff or breakaway cam where you tap on the area of the net you want to shoot etc, but NO they would rather just release pretty much the same game, year after year with minimal improvements and almost ZERO innovation.

As long as Nintendo is up against this type of mentality, it’s going to be an uphill climb to get more 3rd party support unfortunately.

They also need to drop the price of both SKUs by $50 each before the holidays to compete with the Xbox One and especially the PS4. I mean the fact the PS4 is only $50 more than the Deluxe Wii U is kinda silly. Nintendo knows this. Why drop the price now when you have ZERO competition in the “next-gen” race (till the fall)? This is why they’re shooting down the idea of a price drop, but they know how big of an impact releasing 1st party Nintendo franchises is combined with a price drop can be – See the 3DS for details.

DemonRoach

You only say this because 3rd parties abandoned Nintendo. Back in the day, people bought nintendo systems because it had all the best 1st and 3rd party games. Now, people have NO CHOICE but to buy nintendo only for nintendo games.

CCM

They haven’t had great 3rd party support since the SNES actually. Yet I’ve still bought every console of theirs since.

oontz

ha ha, it’s funny right? Its like we are grasping at something from our childhood that will never be a good as it was back then

Nyaria

Oh, yeah, I enjoyed my DS as hell with just Nintendo games… when they are just the 10% of my games on the console. The same goes for the 3DS. I have to admit the GC and Wii were pretty weak when we talk about third party games: specially the GC, as the Wii still have a 60% of good third party exclusives.

oontz

no the wii ONLY had watered down ports of amazing 3rd party software. None of the wii ports even came close to the MS or SONY versions.

Nyaria

People purchase Nintendo console for everything they had. Of course, Nintendo games are one of main reasons, but as they are the other games available. Maybe one of the reasons why the Nintendo consoles tends to dislike to some are they are not aiming for adults or mature games but rather the always seen kids-teens games, a lot of people when “grown” up force him/herself to act more “mature” and leave behind what they enjoyed on the past, Nintendo consoles fall on that process.

I don’t think they are gonna target too hard for exclusives of mature games, all you can expect are borderline teen games and 1-2 matures games on all their lines.

sd

What your saying is on the other systems you get to shoot someone in the head and watch the blood and gore. Sure Nintendo is less violent. Does violence make for fun…not really. The funny thing is that if Nintendo ever released a game on the PS4/3 or xbox 360/1 it would be a top seller. All the people saying the games are for kids would rush out to buy one.

WASD

violent is not the same as mature

oontz

exactly!!!

oontz

and that’s why they will lose the true hard core gamers who want access to more than just the same Nintendo IPs. It’s been said before, if you can only have one system it’s pointless to buy a wiiu. You lose out on sooooooooo many amazing titles that will never be released on that console. Lucky for me I already own a wiiu (still waiting for something solid to play) and a ps3 and will buy a ps4. I love gaming so I am willing to pay for a wiiu just to play nintendo games, but I am part of a small group of people willing to do that. I would love to ONLY own a wiiu but there are just too many amazing games to play that don’t/won’t come to the wiiu. People that only own a wiiu are already missing some of THE best games of this generation.

sd

I partly agree with you. If you can only afford 1 console then you need to choose wisely. If you like FPS, or ultra realistic graphics then the PS4 or x-one are probably a better choice. If you like platformers or nice cartoony graphics or RPG’s (Zelda and X) then Wii U wins hands down I will most certainly end up owning the Wii U and one other console. ( most likely a PS4) But each console has its merits. For example I would most likely get a game like watch dog or the next COD on the pS4 if I owned that as I assume they would have better graphics, but I havnt seen the comparison yet. Although saying that the extra screen on the Wii U COD worked really well.

But those uncertain shouldn’t forget how fun Nintendo games are. By the end of this year there will be 11 exclusive Wii U only titles released and another 7 already announced for next year. That’s pretty impressive when they will mostly all be great titles ( not really convinced by Wii fit U, I prefer weights and martial arts to computer game exercise, but hey some people like it).

oontz

but your wrong. The wiiu never wins cause you NEED to own another console to play all the amazing 3rd party software. I wish I could own a real Next Gen (performance wise) nintendo system so I could enjoy the amazing nintendo IPs and also ALL of the amazing 3rd party content. But it seems since the SNES days that will never be a reality… started losing 3rd party support in the n64 days and every generation its worse and worse. Not to mention there are plat formers and rpg’s that are are equal or better (to what nintendo offers) on PS3. what keeps bringing people back is the nostalgic factor of owning and using a nintendo. If we didn’t grow up with nintendo as children there is NO WAY we’d all be buying their systems and defending their business practices right now. It wouldn’t happen!

sd

Thats a bit of a ridiculous comment. “The Wii U never wins because you need to own another console for 3rd party software”. If that were the case you absolutely need to own a Wii U to get the Nintendo games. Only some of the 3rd party games dont make the Wii U. Assassins Creed, Watchdogs, COD etc all make the Wii U. Maybe not all 3rd party will come to the Wii U, but you made a blanket statement that is untrue. It comes down to preferences. At least with 3rd party there is a chance of an appearance on the Wii U. Its all down to personal preferences. Like I said I might get a PS4, although at the moment there are no games coming out for it, (that will not also be on the wii U), that appeal to me. Where as as there are heaps of new games coming to the Wii U that will be great.

The other thing to remember is the comments and critisism being given to Nintendo was given to the Xbox 360 at launch and the PS4 as well.Critisism is also being given to the Xbox one, people just like to find fault.

Personally I think all consoles need to succeed. If they fail there will be no competition and the industry will suffer.

Michelle Taylor

R.i.p Wii u

Bob Charlie

^^More proof that little kids play PS.

oontz

ha ha that’s funny since the majority of games on Nintendo systems are geared directly towards children with their art direction and learning curves.

Bob Charlie

Eh, I have fun no matter how the games look. Obviously little kids play any game regardless of the rating, violence, and/or how they look.
I enjoy playing fun, clean games with my son, Roberto Charlie. However, I don’t like to play games with brats who think holding a controller and pressing buttons makes them a bad ass.

heavenshitman1

That’s just wrong. I bought Ninja Gaiden 3 for my WiiU just the other day. A very Playstation centric title in the past. And it’s the most derivative , arcade esque, brain dead title I’ve seen. Same with Tekken, usually a Sony style game. I can’t stand it.
Bets on if you actually tried a Nintendo title, like Metroid prime, or nigh on any 3D Zelda title. Or even something as simple as the DS brain training games etc.. you’ll find that you actually have to use your brain to succeed. You’ll be ripping your mind to pieces to figure how to master these games. They’re experiences that a Sony system seriously lacks, and the kind of very mature gameplay experiences that any playstation rarely has.
Even the GTA games, I’ve watched mainly one other friend play. But all the way back to the 2D days, when ppl used to come over my house before school and play it. Its just endless and mindless roaming around, activate cheats and shoot ppl for a few hours. I get sick of watching that every time I see a GTA game.
Try playing Lego City on WiiU, lacks the blood, but the game makes genuine humour and puns to many mature movies and TV shows, it’s intelligent, and has enough variety and presentation to rival anything you’ll have on your playstation.

oontz

Ha ha… seriously? That’s all you have to say. I’ve played every Metroid and Zelda game (Actually playing SS again right now). I play a TON of games. Nintendo has a small place in my heart from my childhood, when I would game for hours on end on my NES. Now I need more than one system to get my gaming fix.

You think SONY lacks great experiences like these? Wow!!! This quote of yours…

“They’re experiences that a Sony system seriously lacks, and the kind of very mature gameplay experiences that any playstation rarely has.”

is a perfect example that you don’t play enough games. Here is a quick list of some of the best gaming experiences of this last generation…on Ps3.
ModNation Racers, InFAMOUS (1&2), Metal Gear Solid 4, Little Big Planet, Uncharted (1,2 & 3), God of War 3, Fat Princess, Ratchet and Clank: Future (all of them), 3D Dot Game Heroes, Demon’s Soul’s, Heavenly Sword, WipeOutHD, Resistance: Fall of Man, Warhawk, Killzone 2, Heavy Rain, Tha Last of Us, etc. These are just a few SONY exclusives that offer AMAZING gaming experiences. This doesn’t even scrape the barrel of the 3rd party game support found on PS3 that don’t exist on any Nintendo platforms.

As for GTA being (as you put)

“endless and mindless roaming around, activate cheats and shoot ppl for a few hours”

obviously that’s one way to play if you want, but for real gamers the core (crime) story is there and there is a reason GTA games are some of the highest rated games of all time on any system, usually scoring perfect 10’s and 100’s just like a zelda title.

Like I’ve said before I grew up with nintendo but thy haven’t grown up with me. The continue to rehash the same ips in the same styles instead of trying something new with their franchises in a different way. Could you imagine a huge Mario game set in the mushroom kingdom with the scope of Skyrim? It’s completely possible but they would rather play it safe and keep it kid friendly.

heavenshitman1

Yeah it’s true, I haven’t played a lot of these titles, and haven’t seen them played as I don’t know anyone with em. Though I do have a smaller than average social circle (and prefer it that way. The one I’ve got is a head-ache enough as it is)
And a lot of what you mentioned were shooters, a well and truly over done genre. I saw a trailer for Battle field 4 recently. The scene leading up to a squad sunk in a sea/ocean in a all-terrain. And all I was doing was skipping through the vid. Looked the same, looked derivative. I own CoD BOps 2, and a game I play the least, production values all the world but gameplay is again derivative and mindless.
As for GTA, I’ve personally never had any of them beyond the 2D games (pirated for me). And every solitary time I watched any one of those games played, which has equated to hours over the years. I’ve literally seen nigh on zero gameplay. just run, gun, kill, steal car, drive, crash, die, spawn,….. repeat, endlessly.
Personally I think the gaming industry in general is totally stuck for ideas and creativity. Even a very hardcore PC tech-head I know at my work, gave up on gaming about a year ago. Sold his PC. Slightly narrow minded gamer, but still. He’s bored.
On the Sony front, I’ve seen playstation games played and demo’d in front of me plenty of times, and never once had any impressive experience from em. Played Killzone on PS3 years ago. Meh. Even the coveted Grand Turismo series, Sony’s most premiere franchise, just utterly uninspiring game to me. Millions of car models to race, but earlier iterations of the games like on PS2, I just see rail driving, riding the walls to round corners, no crash damage, generic engine sounds across all vehicles. NFS Underground 2 was one of few racing games that I really enjoyed, why EA hasn’t followed and improved that formula since I wouldn’t have a clue.
I’ve certainly played plenty of games over the years beyond a Nintendo platform, But all in all I still invest in Nintendo games the most. Just me. Back to the original point of the first post on this thread, Nintendo games for kids. I still believe on average a (good) Nintendo game still requires more intelligent , puzzle solving, brain dependant, skilled and strategic gameplay than most of what hits the market these days

Nah im going to look for one on ebay can find a good deal there but am just waiting for Wind Waker hd to release first.

sd

I was disapointed at E3, but then i thought about it and watched the demo’s again. Then i tried to think about the games coming to the Wii u that are exclusives. I suddenly realised how many there are. Now i’m very happy. The list so far (exclusives only):-

I’m sure I am missing a few (add any exclusives i might have missed below) , But that’s a lot of high quality games that are exclusives.

Edward

The only one I think you missed is Fire Emblem X Shin Megami Tensei but I haven’t heard much about it since the Nintendo Direct it was announced. It wasn’t shown at E3.

Mr. Hobo

They haven’t announced a release date for it yet.

heavenshitman1

But fair call that game is coming, and I’d expect it to be awesome. Then there’s that free-play diver game coming. And with fair luck maybe the new age Zelda may hit by 2014 end as well.
There’s likely to be one or two titles Nintendo have yet to announce entirely I’d suggest

sd

Yeah I couldn’t remember if X was the project or if it was something else. I guess Nintendo need to keep some things under wrap. plus as these games release it will free the teams up to start new unannounced projects, if they have not already started them.

oontz

Game & Wario reviews aren’t good… 5 out of 10

sd

Yeah its getting 62 on metacritic. I wasn’t planning on getting it after I saw the mini game collection. It was supposed to be a pre-installed game, they should have stuck to that and released extra mini games as micro transactions. 101, Zelda WW, donkey kong and mario 3d for me.

I don’t expect much out of Wii party U or Wii Fit U either.

Xavier Lopez Chabelo

Im just dissapointed with the Wii U…. but only one thing it is. Why NINTENDO? Why the Wii U is not compatible with DirectX 11? Because of that the Wii U is gonna miss KH III (already confirmed: not coming to Wii U because DirectX 11 compability), Final Fantasy XV and a bunch of titles… just why?

John Raybell

No shit nintendo!!!

First off you have failed to show that you are serious about your new console, “the new way to play” has also failed because nobody has truly used it in NEW ways.

I love nintendo, but this console they should have played it safe, or went with Wii2.

I would have loved to see a wii as powerful as xboxoneps4.
The wii was true innovation, the wiiu is just tablet controller.

Ok yeah that didn’t happen, so what now? we have the wiiu a new console that is the most over priced console nintendo has released, all because of the sacrifice they made with the $140 tablet controller, while lacking on console.

So overpriced, well that can change, so thats fine.

Its the games, lately All i feel from the gaming industry is the feeling of being a cow, being milked to death. I don’t mind the same franchises but at times its nice to get a new ip and if nothing else its nice to get a nintendo franchise that does something new, which isnt the case this gen, play it safe, repeat what helped the 3ds.

I will buy and love the games that come out for the next year or two, but I still care more about what is to come, not what we know is coming, and that to me is disappointing, hell I already cant wait till we find out what the next nintendo system is, The wii impressed me with its innovation, the wiiu meh I had a tablet and a ipod at the time so meh.

Hope the next nintendo console impresses me again like they have done in the past

So its all about the games, I own a wiiu so they don’t have to buy me off, but I would love some NEW software to go with my new console,not remakes, cookie cutter, or milker spinoffs, I want some titles that prove to me what i should have bought this console, need to feel good about my purchase.

heavenshitman1

As everyone is complaining about, Nintendo had to show off a new Zelda or Metroid to garner proper attention at E3. Why Nintendo persists to be so quiet, I’m not sure, but I think everyone is forgetting the fact that a brand new WiiU Zelda is on the way. Nintendo said they nearly showed it at E3.
So that is coming, and Nintendo would have one or 2 titles at least in the works, that they haven’t mentioned what so ever yet. Your games are coming.
I had a slight theory that Nintendo deliberately delayed most of their titles. More so to compete with the launch window of PS4/Xbone as opposed to release early and have nothing then. So they’re just using all their extra time.
To me the WiiU’s major mistake was releasing too early. Just to catch a Christmas season. If WiiU were released the last couple months they library would look pretty cool and certain titles , like ZombieU could have gone from good to system seller. Bit sad

oontz

Wiiu Zelda is a far way off maybe even late 2015. By that time people will be deep into ps4 and xb1.

John Andalora

Well, they didn’t show off a Metroid game, and the Zelda game they showed off was one they’re updating from 10 years ago.
That’s not good for “attention.”

Out of the 11 exclusives coming only for Wii U, only 4 of them are coming out within the Christmas Window from October to November (Wind Waker HD, Wii Fit U, Donkey Kong, 3d Super Mario World). The couple of games that are coming out in 2014 were only confirmed. It’s unsure whether they’re even going to compete with launch windows for other consoles.

As for new Zelda, all that’s out is words. No date set. No clue when that’s coming.

heavenshitman1

I got my WiiU and enough wealth to happily invest in it. Maybe not enough to take PS4/Xbone as a secondary, will see. Do have a baby on the way. I think the main titles coming to WiiU will be solid heavy successes mainly Mario Kart 8 and Wii Fit U hopefully like last gen will propel the system into the casual audience with relatively long term success. I’m really looking forward to it. Still play the old Wii Fit, exercise is timeless.
Got my PC for high end gaming as well. And as for WiiU still might get the Deus ex cut, didn’t play the first version. Still not sure about games like Watch Dogs and Splinter Cell, but will look at both of those as 3rd party options. I don’t agree WiiU is getting no titles. PS4 and Xbone aside, it’s quite plausible that Watch Dogs, Rayman legends, Splinter Cell and the Indie games etc.., may actually be the superior versions on WiiU (debateable against PC but I am preferring my gaming in the living room with my 50″).

iceazeama

do you know whos to blame…. YOU FUCKING DUMB ASS!!!! GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE AND TAKE REGGIE AND ALL THE OTHERS TOO!!!!!! please understand…. please understand i apologize…. FUCK YOU!!!!!

OphidianJaguar

They want to blame it on marketing, that is a small part of the puzzle. It was too little too late tech wise, their first HD console in 2012!? Not to mention went with their own proprietary disc so no blu-ray. And with the PS4 on the way at only $399 for a powerful REAL next gen console with 500MB, 4K ready..why would I pay $349 for a problematic, already outdated console when I could get a PS4 for only 50 bucks more! The PS4 is a game console, the Xbox One is a media hub, Nintendo is unsure of what they are right now, its not the same company that made the NES through GameCube. The second issue is games, a console is meaningless without the games to back it up no matter how much you advertise and try to push how great Wii U is. Granted there were some decent launch games, which I already have on PS3 and a side scrolling Mario Game. E3 showed the next up and coming games Mario Kart, Donkey Kong, 3D Mario Game, and Smash Bros. Smash Bros and Mario Kart sweeten the deal but, its still not enough for me to purchase the Wii U at its price point. And serious!?… they are pumping out another Donkey Kong game so soon. The DK Returns on Wii was released in 2010, plus one on 3DS…and they bring it out on Wii U instead of HD Zelda or HD Metroid…WTF is wrong with Nintendo!? The 32GB console has to sell at a $300 price point, release a proper Zelda HD game and Metroid HD and now we’re talking. It sucks cuz I have been a Nintendo junkie since the NES days. I purchased a PS3 (my FIRST non Nintendo console) in 2009 cuz Wii was just not cutting it. GameCube was the last SOLID Nintendo console. Looks like I will purchase a PS4 before I buy a Wii U.

heavenshitman1

Lest not forget your PS4 will still cost you a fair bomb. Launch unit is a great price, but your spare controllers (in Australia, where I’m from) are about a $100AU a piece, WiiU is BC with Wii remotes, and games for that matter, then a required subscription to touch online. Also the eyetoy separate if you intend to indulge in those features. And the high price Vita to make the supposed ‘gamepad’ rival combo. PS4 games where I am are set to be as high as over $100 as well
And the 4K ready factor you mentioned will never play any part in the PS4. From a gaming point, it doesn’t have remotely enough performance to run 4K resolution games. The highest end PC cards can manage to deal with what you might call “2K” resolutions. And from a media perspective. You’ll need a TV that is 60″ or beyond, which at the least will cost a fortune, and also Blu-ray won’t have enough storage for 4K media. As even a 1080p movie takes a full disc. And Blu-ray movies still run compression if I’m not mistaken.
As it currently stands, WiiU still does have the highest number of exclusive games, although they’re taking a while to hit. They will hit. And PS4 still has to launch, and prove itself a successful machine. No launch faults (360 RROD style) or launch delays. So will just have to wait and see.
As for me, I have my gaming PC, so most the kind to titles you’ll have on your PS4 I can play anyways, or there is still the XBOX One alternative (depending on your opinion on that machine)

oontz

why do people always mention suscription for online as a bad thing? Have you tried PS+ ??? For $5usd a month you get (On average) 5+ free FULL PS3 games a month… A MONTH!! That is a super deal any way you slice it. Hell last month we got Deus Ex – HR for FREE, a game WiiU owners are still waiting to BUY! I’d be willing to pay nintendo $5usd a month also for an online service if it meant free games every month in my download folder!

Lance Rogers

a price cut is needed if they want to sell anything this holiday season.

$41809923

nintendo say that their are 2 or 3 games that are coming soon to the wii u on the next nintendo direct so its not over nintendo has more secrets

Xavier Lopez Chabelo

And here I am thinking that Wii U and XBOX ONE are stupid names LOL

Mad Scientist Link

I just bought donkey Kong country returns about an hour ago at target and the employee asked me if i had the wii u. I told him its great and im liking it, he then said “it plays wii games right? Its just a wii but they added a tablet after all.” I informed him about and he was quite shocked it was a new console. Thus shows how bad Nintendo did not advertise the CONSOLE enough.they just kept showing off the gamepad

oontz

when people that sell your product don’t know what it does… there is a MAJOR problem.

Mad Scientist Link

Exactly i just wondered how many people who were asking about the wii u were misinformed by him. Nintendo messed up bad again (3DS) and need to fix it soon. Maybe a price drop to $299 USD for the deluxe (some say to 250 but thats too low)

sd

They have done a crap job of advertising. When I bought my console I arrived half an hour after opening on launch day. I went to pick up my pre-order and they didn’t know what it was. They then had to spend half an hour finding the shipment to give me my pre-order as no one new what it was or that it had been released. I then went to JB, which is a store where you would assume the staff would know about these things. The two people behind the counter had to call over a manager to find out what zombi U was as they couldn’t find it in the Wii draw.

They need a very basic campaign that says ” Hi im from nintendo, did you know we have a brand new console out called the wii u” here are the games it has, ( show clips of x, mario kart, donkey kong pikmin etc) then show the controller. Its available now and its a brand new console.

So simple. The adverts they did were crap. Focus on the console and games, while educating in the advert, not people playing the tablet.

Wanderlei

They never marketed hard because they knew they didn’t have enough games in the pipeline to keep momentum, so it would have been wasted money. Although I don’t think they expected to be this bad. The upside is they still have the opportunity to have a massive marketing campaign to coincide with the release of substantial games. A opportunity they wouldn’t have of they marketed hard at the start.

Mark Rich

the problem with the wii-u is like it predecessor the wii is extremely underpowered in comparison to the next gen consoles and that price point does not help them what so ever.

oontz

extremely… sad

http://www.onefai.com/ Gleeleegoolu

It is a heavy expansive tablet that last only a few hours.

sd

I have never used a tablet as much as I use this one.

Adecentboy777

Finally Iwata admits what I was saying all the time from the very beginning. I think I should work as adviser since so many companies fail and have no clue about real business in the gaming industrie

Wiiluigi

Nintendo please stop apologizing. It’s making me sick. Rename the Wii U. To the “U” or simply make a very very limited run of the console to boost Interest. I honestly think there really is no interest cause of the similarities in names. Parents don’t understand its different.
Regroup find that one game that everyone will want. I’m not saying it’ll be easy but I mean come on it should be a little easier being that this is your profession. It’s what you guys get paid to do. So uh do it. Make that one new amazing IP. Or how about a NEW amazing Zelda or a NEW revolutionary Mario. Not a new Mario world or a new wind waker. We love these games cause they bring new challenges new looks and innovative fun.
Stop recycling you old stuff. I’m not complaining. But think about how Mario and zelda has changed over the years. Lately they have all been looking the same. You want sales? Regroup release new things. I mean look at DKTF why continue the DK country look. We just got that with DKC returns 3DS. It’s the same stuff with new angles and fur. Don’t get me wrong I will be purchasing it but its the same look. How about some new mind blowing graphics?

devmiles

it’s really really simple… it’s fucking simple in fact! nintendo failed the wii-u’s launch big big big time… we knew this would happen. there is no software that blow peoples minds. all that 3d mario stuff, a proper metroid, a legit zelda should have been announced from the beginning. to be even more honest nintendo was kinda ‘saved’ by 3rd party devs that made some titles for launch, otherwise we now would have been stuck with only a lazy made mario 2d game with a luigi update. eversince the N64 and gamecube nintendo really fucks with the marketing. If they fail..it will be all due to themselves. they might be king of handheld but no more king of consoles. many people would have bought a wii-u if mario 3d worlds was available from the beginning for instance. the hardware and possibilities might be amazing and truely nintendo, i’m getting so pissed with all the VC fuzz and lack of games. Iwata might need to step down and make way for a new guy that does understand the way of marketing and properly promoting a console, come big, come Nintendo, not like a pussy doing Nintendo directs to update the customer, give us the fucking software we want with the console… now again we need to wait till halfway 2014 for the titles you would want to buy imidiately at launch..lazy fucking bastards… and yes i’m a mad customer and hope nintendo reads this.

MujuraNoKamen

I wish people wouldn’t keep saying Iwata should step down! Firstly he’s a legend, secondly, he’s the best man for the job, he’s overseen a great period for Nintendo (DS and Wii – now 3DS and hopefully Wii U) The problem with Wii U is advertising and the sheer slow pace of EAD. I hold Iwata partially responsible for both of these issues as he should have made the marketing department come up with better ads than the stinkers they’ve made so far. And told EAD & other devs to hurry the hell up with Pikmin 3, MK8, make a new IP at last, get a Mature IP (Metroid) out by 2014 and give Starfox to someone (Platinum if EAD is just going to sit around snoozing all day) If they’d expand their teams and Miyamoto or someone would stop making excuses and make a new IP and get these game out fast and up to standard then Nintendo wouldn’t be facing an uncertain 6 months. If the advertising departments actually new how to market games and the console then we wouldn’t all be here ranting about it. Like I said, I do blame Iwata partially for not putting his foot down his company’s incompetent areas but if they’d do their jobs properly and actually new how to make an impression he wouldn’t have to and we’d all be hearing good news about Wii U while playing Metroid and Starfox.

Jamal Brown

not enough gd games is why the wii u failed

sd

Failed? It hasn’t failed yet. Its just not emulating the Wii and sales are a bit slow. You need to remember in the first 4 quarters ( the first year) the sony PS3 only sold 5.63 million consoles. It wasn’t until after this that sales started to pick up. So the Wii U is not actually doing badly yet.

Obvioulsy if Sales dont pick up by the end of the year when all the new games are released then I would say it is in trouble. But not just yet.

david daniel wharton camacho

stop using it as an excuse, tbh i love nintendo and i have a wiiu but for the lack of 3rd party games im seriously thinking on selling mine to get an xbox one.

sd

I would still say it is too soon to say it has failed. Why would anyone buy one at the moment when there are no new games being released. But towards the end of the year we will actually find out what the state of this console actually is. If sales don’t pick up after the new game releases then yes it will fail. But at the moment it hasn’t failed. I am just looking at the stats and trends of previous consoles for my evidence, nothing else.

Oh and i’m not a blind Nintendo fanboy, just someone hoping that all of the consoles succeed to encourage competition.

I pre-ordered my Xbox one today, so hopefully that console does well. But I also want the PS4 to sell well. 3 consoles are better than 1, so we should all be hoping that each console succeeds to encourage decent competition.
Far too much doom and gloom. I would hold off on selling just yet, unless you really are disappointed by the upcoming game releases.

Elvis Hayes

i think i know why thier system wasn’t selling good
i’ts because the wii saved games cant be
transferd to the wii u thats why thier not
special id tried to do that but it wont allow
to tansferd any of my saved games to the
wii u system and thier games are not fun
so far like the new super mario bros u it is because it is like the previous game core gamers like to beat the game without mutiplayers because people say the multiplayer mode makes people get game overs and all the items they collected are all gone and the toad houses and the items never return until you get a game over even you lose all your lives and the only way people will play the games if code junkies.com make an action replay or a wii u save device for the wii u to enjoy the games you sell.

Hunter Morrow

The Nintendo Wii Apologize. Isn’t this getting a little old?
They said there would be 1st and 2nd party support and no droughts.
2 first party games in 8 months, NintendoLand and 2D sidescroller Mario.
We’ll have third party support. Nobody is developing for them, they’ve lost games
like Deus X and Rayman Legends as exclusives and are beefing with EA.
I’m more than sick of Satoru “Sorry Excuse” Iwata making mistake after
mistake and then going “Oh, I take blame.” Get bent.

http://twitch.tv/dve2k DVE

Just get The 1st party games out and selling and Its Wii all over Again

Jeremy Pigeon

It would have helped to thave the system’s name being different… the console is similar in looks and bears the almost same name as its predecessor. Never forget that the mass is easily confused.

Potemkin

They won’t. They are too stubborn to comprehend what is happening. They should have a hint when almost everyone ignored them at E3 and only talked about Sony Vs. Microsoft. :/

lozman1122

Wrong. Microsoft is too little too late. They have now caused uncertainty among their customers and shown themselves to be wishy-washy and they don’t stick to their guns. I’m glad of the changes they made, but it showed weakness on their part. This is showing Nintendo showing it’s humility.

Agent721

3DS prooves that its clearly not too late, as does the PS3s revival from certain doom. Lets also keep things in perspective…I, along with many analysts, beleive that the Wii Us poor sales will reproduce across all platforms once the others come out. Its a much weaker economy than the last gens launch, the youth demo has very high unemployment and phones/tablets offer a ton of good games for free. Tons of publishers have gone under & more will follow, but N will be a survivors. I forsee mergers & acquisitions down the road.

Potemkin

That is going a bit too far. Out of the three companies Nintendo has proven over the years how arrogant they can get. Super Nintendo with the CD drive, N64 sticking up with the cartridge system, the Game Cube with the MiniDisc and the Wii without the HD option (and horrible online experience). The Wii U? Outdated console with a high price (just because of the controller). So no, Nintendo owns that spot and now try to show themselves as the saviors of the gaming industry.

Bob Charlie

Indeed you’re right. Nintendo essentially created the PlayStation by screwing over Sony with the disc drive deal.

lozman1122

I never said Nintendo hasn’t made mistakes. I simply said that Nintendo finally admitting that it’s at fault here showed humility, because it does. Nintendo has made their share of mistakes. Be thankful that a company comes out and apologizes. What you’re talking about with their past are technicalities. Who cares if the Gamecube had minidisc? I personally loved it and played tons of incredible games on it. Who cares if the Wii wasn’t HD? I got to have some sweet experiences on it. Call me a fanboy, call me blind. I don’t care. All that matters to me is that I get to play great games, whether that’s with “gimmicks”, with a controller, or with a mouse and keyboard. Sure Nintendo made mistakes. Sure they can be arrogant at times. But at least they have the decency to finally own up to their mistakes.

lozman1122

I actually agree with you here. I understand what Nintendo was trying to do, but it caused too much unnecessary confusion. I would have rather have a completely new name instead of Wii U. I think Microsoft is doing that too. Xbox 720 would have been a bad name too, but it would have been more clear than Xbox One.

Dhruv Rajyagor

The new logo and color scheme are all apart of the marketing side of business, from what I am assuming. If what I am assuming is correct, then the trouble Nintendo has is with it’s marketing. Even they said they were lazy on marketing, which was a pretty horrible move. But I’ pretty sure we can all agree that Nintendo’s marketing on the Wii U is crap.

That said, I personally think they shoud re-do their marketing. Like probably a new logo, which, from what you said, helped consumers differentiate the Xbox and Xbox 360 (which I actually never thought of. Thanks for that). That way, re-designing tbe logo would help consumers differentiate the Wii from the Wii U. ‘Course, that’s just me personally.

Potemkin

Iwata has surely softened the stern image of the old Nintendo, but still figures such as Shigeru Miyamoto (he’s a genius when it comes to games) still draw back Nintendo to it’s old self (if I’m not mistaken it was his idea to keep the cartridges and the miniDisc format and other restrictive ideas).

All the formats Nintendo rejected became a standard and in time they had to adapt them, but the transition took too long for them and the competition took the lead and the third party developers left with them.

TaintedXGamer

Wii U – We and You does that make sense? also did they do the same for their previous consoles? no. the only one that was numbered is the Nintedo 64 – gamecube, they ccould have called it N64 2? nah coz it doesn’t play N64 games
howeever the wii is backward post gc but it was and still is a upgrade.

Dhruv Rajyagor

Eh, I don’t think a name change is necessary. That’s just me though. While I get where you’re coming from, there would also be a problem at the patent offices and names of all the games that already have the Wii U name brand on them, let alone the box art. People might think that the game for the Wii I would no be compatible with the system just cause of the name change.

Dhruv Rajyagor

I think there would be more confusion since they rebranded that. People would most likely start asking them “Why did you rebrand it in the first place?” Or “Why didn’t u keep it as it was” or some sort. Plus, another problem is that with a new name, people might start thinking it’s a 9th generation system instead of an 8th Gen system.